Do you have a writing niche like real estate or property development? Maybe you’ve worked in a particular field so you understand the nuances and complexities better than the average freelance writer. This might enable you to position yourself as a topic expert, target clients in that area, and command a healthy rate. Ensure you highlight your point of difference – here are 3 ways to market your content writing services to a niche. 1.Create a targeted lead magnet, pushed out through paid channels like Facebook advertising, to attract new prospects in your niche. This can be a free checklist or ebook relevant to the industry you specialise in. Ensure you include strong CTAs and ask for their email in exchange as a minimum, to then continue sending relevant content in that market segment. 2. Weave your industry throughout your website, SEO and social media – highlight your specialty on your home and about pages, add targeted blog CTAs and garner testimonials from clients in your niche, to make the decision for future visitors easier. If you have an SEO strategy in place, you might decide to build customised pages to rank for keywords in your niche. List the credentials that position you favourably to your target clients to make you stand apart. Include your industry in meta title and description tags, including those for your homepage – i.e. ‘COMPANY NAME – Property Social Media and Digital Marketing’. Weave your specialty keywords into free and paid channels, including social media and search engine marketing (SEM) to continually position yourself as an expert in that field and attract the right...
How can PR elevate your brand in 2019? PR is moving fast, and what might have worked brilliantly for your brand in the past might not be enough in the present. While marketing activities like advertising look to achieve direct revenue, traditionally PR seeks to create a positive reputation for a brand in the market. However, PR is evolving into a sales role by some definitions, leading customers to directly shop the products they see online and in physical stores. We take a look at four ways that PR can support your brand. 1. Effective PR creates a positive brand image With new media outlets appearing all the time, many companies are choosing to outsource PR to agencies. These have the media contacts, know what they want and how to package it up. Within the corporate sector, PR frequently sits under sales and marketing to support revenue generating activity. That’s because effective PR comes down to excellent written and visual communication, pushed out through different media channels. The aim is to create a positive image that shapes perceptions, often through story telling and relating of experiences. There are many approaches to create that positive image, all of which hinge on creative execution and a well-planned strategy that looks outside the box to drive a message home. 2. It achieves exposure in multiple places Many will tell you that traditional PR, in the sense of bulk sending a press release to journalists, isn’t enough any longer. Sending information to the media is still important, and so is traditional coverage like a double-page spread in the weekend paper. But newspapers are...
A large part of running a business is the customer experience you create, in every place your brand is accessible. The customer experience starts from the moment a visitor finds you, and continues after they’ve made a purchase. This experience is what can attract the right type of customer – one who returns to buy from you, and talks about your brand to others. Here’s how to maximise the first four steps of your customer experience, from the point of first contact to purchase. Step 1. Look at every place your target customers access your brand We recommend having at least five brand access points. This might be Facebook, Instagram, a website, a mailing list, digital advertising, a podcast, PR, or advertorials. List all of these in separate tabs on a spreadsheet. Then, look at the activities you’re running at each of these points. You might have Facebook advertising set up for example, for which you’ve created a simple marketing funnel using MailChimp. Map activities and stages under each access point in the spreadsheet, so you have a snapshot of what your market sees. Step 2. Review the content you’ve created for each activity Does it meet these criteria? Is it showing enough value, fixing a pain point and creating trust for your market first, without asking them to do anything? You might want to pull out your customer snapshot, a description of your target customer based on research and information you’ve gathered along the way. Does it speak to customers at their level, in a language they understand? Is it on-brand? You might want to revisit your brand...
In a digital world where business is open 24/7, appearing calm and collected from the outside isn’t always simple. These marketing apps can reduce time and stress almost instantly, to keep your brand sharp around the clock. The added upside is that almost all of them are free! 1. Buffer for social media scheduling. If you juggle multiple social media accounts, jumping into each individual one to post can take all day. Buffer lets you schedule posts in every account like Facebook and Twitter. This means you can set and forget, and analyse their performance in a single clear snapshot. Social media marketing or management is a sizeable area you can automate each month to save hours. And thanks to apps like Buffer, you will never miss what your social interactions look like. Just like Google Analytics lets you track and report website traffic, it’s vital to have a way to effectively track social media. 2. Slack for communication. The last thing you want is extra emails! Slack lets you direct message your team, send and receive files and arrange and set away conversations. The beauty of Slack is it keeps work separate from your social messaging apps, making it easier to shut off at the end of the day (especially if you switch notifications off). Slack is excellent at keeping everyone in the loop so your team can collaborate without missing a thing. 3. Skype for video chat. Skype is one of several tools our content marketing agency uses to communicate with clients who aren’t local, or are temporarily overseas. 4. Lightroom CC for a cohesive Instagram feed....
Want to know how to build an email marketing list, and why you should? Successful marketing is a mix of so many things combined, but if your email list isn’t way up there in terms of priority, you should reconsider. What is an email marketing list? An email list, or an electronic mailing list, is a database of subscribers who’ve signed up to receive email content from you. Under the Spam Act 2003, there are three rules which email marketers must stick to: Consent from the recipient to opt-in, Identification of the sender; and A clearly visible option to unsubscribe in each email. Advantages of email marketing As Facebook’s organic reach has steadily declined, email continues to be a direct line to subscribers without the noise, or the clutter, of social media. While posts attracting comments and interaction are more likely to show up in followers’ feeds, the catch is that fewer followers seeing posts equals less visibility and interaction. The fact is, it’s more difficult for brands to reach their market on social media, which is why they shouldn’t only focus there. Asking followers to continue the conversation on email can let you control your message and its reach. Email marketing list building strategies These six strategies can help you build your email marketing list. Ask existing contacts to join you. Email existing contacts and explain why you want to stay in touch and what they can expect to receive from you – whether it’s industry insight, tips or personal experience. Customise every email to each recipient, and include a link to subscribe. Make it easy subscribe. Add the...
As 2019 gets into full swing, it’s time to refocus your content marketing efforts in order to expand your brand reach. Sure, you’re probably aware of the basic digital marketing techniques – and perhaps you’ve even mastered them. But that doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels. Rather, you need to investigate what’s new in the digital world and use those innovative tools to speak to new audiences. Getting the basics right If you’re just starting out or need a refresher on how to market your business in the digital age, it’s important to master the basics first. Luckily you don’t have to go it alone – there are lots of free marketing tools that can make your life easier. That being said, you will need to understand the essentials in order to take full advantage of online marketing. For starters, get acquainted with: Search engine optimisation (SEO) Content creation Inbound and social media marketing Google AdWords Automation tools Press releases Digital launches These are just a handful of the most common marketing tools and tactics. So rather than taking a scatter gun approach, test a range of different methods, find what works best for your brand, and build your expertise in a few different areas. Here are five to consider. Tip #1 – Schedule Instagram Stories Every business worth its salt should be tapping into social media. These communication hubs are no longer just places where people upload photos and catch up with old friends – they are an absolute goldmine for businesses with the marketing nous to capture their audience’s attention. Instagram’s popularity has skyrocketed in...
